Quote:
Originally Posted by Louied
-between 1989 and 2002 Gurkha Selection attracted, annually, anywhere between 25,000- 32,000 prospects who appeared at the Gurkha Depot in Nepal. Usually only 1% of that total was selected to be part of the British Army Gurkhas in peacetime. In a build up to war/wartime I think we can say that a larger percentage would have been inducted.
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Wow. I wasn't aware that the number of potential recruits was so large. Thanks for that.
I wonder if increasing recruitment in the run up to war would in some ways "water down" the quality, or at least elite reputation, of Gurkha formations in the British Army. I imagine training would need to be abbreviated somewhat. I also wonder if the war in China would somehow delay or disrupt the pipeline.
As for E. Europeans, I can see NATO implementing a system similar to that developed by the Allies in WW2. Exiles from Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, et al were organized into "national" formations, equipped by the Brits or Americans, and fought under British divisional (and/or above) command- probably the most famous example being the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade (Poland).
This thread presents some ideas for how to incorporate foreign troops into NATO armies. See Canadian Army's Msg #17, in particular.
https://forum.juhlin.com/showthread....foreign+legion
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